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Vol. 86 July 18, 2026 No. 19

Michael Paff

piano importer piano dealer
  • Michael and John Paff

Biography

Michael Paff, together with his brother John Paff, took over the piano-dealing business originally started by John Jacob Astor in 1789, acquiring it in 1802. Some of the pianos they dealt in were sold in Brooklyn and on Broadway. After some changes the business subsequently passed into the hands of William Dubois. Michael Paff, together with John Paff, took over the piano-importing trade that John Jacob Astor abandoned once his fur business grew large enough to occupy his full attention. Spillane gives no further biographical detail about him in this section.

Highlights

  • Succeeded John Jacob Astor in the piano-importing branch of trade once Astor's fur business had grown large
  • Took over John Jacob Astor's piano-dealing business jointly with his brother John Paff in 1802.

Source

Daniel Spillane, History of the American Pianoforte (1890), pp. 69, 107.

Public domain.

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